Salted Caramel Almond Thumbprint Cookies

These easy salted caramel almond thumbprint cookies are perfect for any party or cookie exchange! They are slightly nutty, sweet, and incredibly rich with salted caramel filling!

I love the Christmas season for a lot of reasons, but let’s be honest here, one of the best parts of Christmas are the Christmas cookies. It’s the time of year when it’s fairly (I say ‘fairly’ so none of you will judge me too harshly here 😉 ) acceptable to eat some sort of cookie every single day—from now until New Years. Incidentally, I happen to have a few cookie suggestions! Apart from these caramel almond thumbprint cookies (which you have to try!), might I causally hint at trying out something like these sugar cookies or chocolate caramel cookies? 😉

Clearly, my New Years resolutions will be something about eating healthier or exercising more. But, today is not that day. Today is a day for cookies. Salted caramel almond thumbprint cookies, to be exact.

When I was younger, thumbprint cookies were just those ‘jam-filled’ cookie things that actually tasted pretty amazing, but were slightly underwhelming at first. While it took me a while to appreciate desserts other than chocolate on chocolate, I now actually lovethose classic jam-filled thumbprint cookies. 🙂

Despite loving those classic thumbprint cookies, my favorite part of baking is getting creative with desserts. Since thumbprint cookies are incredibly versatile, it’s been my life’s mission to make as many amazing pairings as I possibly can. You can fill the centers of thumbprint cookies with absolutely anything you want, which makes these cookies so fun. Today I went for salted caramel, but maybe tomorrow it’ll be cheesecake. Or chocolate ganache. Or marshmallows (much like these Hot Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies).

Sugar is my life. True story.

These caramel thumbprint cookies are so simple to make, which makes them a fantastic recipe for the holiday season! Additionally, these cookies make a great gift for friends, family, and even yourself! In fact, I give these as a gift to myself every year (I’m very selfless, obviously). I’m confident you will like them as much as I do!

Give them a try! They won’t disappoint. 😉

Yields About 2 Dozen Cookies

Salted Caramel Almond Thumbprint Cookies

These easy salted caramel almond thumbprint cookies are perfect for any holiday party or cookie exchange! They’re sweet, slightly nutty, and incredibly rich with the salted caramel filling!

20 minPrep Time

12 minCook Time

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Ingredients

Thumbprint Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups finely chopped almonds

Salted Caramel Filling

20 caramels

1/4 cup heavy cream

sea salt, for sprinkling

Instructions

Thumbprint Cookies

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cream butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add in eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Beat until combined.

Add in flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined (dough will be thick).

Shape dough in about 1 to 2" balls, and roll each in chopped almonds.

Place each cookie on the sheet, about 2" apart. Press your thumb in the center of each cookie, pressing down slightly.

Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies are slightly golden brown.

Caramel Filling

Place caramels and cream in a bowl and microwave in 30-second increments at 50% power (stirring after each hit in the microwave), until the caramel is smooth.

Fill the centers of each cookie with caramel and sprinkle with a bit of sea salt, if desired.